Techniques and processes for generating electricity from a geothermal source are well-known. For example, it is well-known to convert geothermal steam to electricity using conventional steam turbines. In many such processes, the spent geothermal steam is subsequently released into the atmosphere.
Typically, liquid contaminant removal from a gas stream has been designed for stack emissions, for example, coal-fired boilers. Generally, such stack emissions are at temperatures above the vapor point of water and therefore such technology is not effective for spent geothermal steam. It is known to condense the contaminants out of a gas stream at very low temperatures. However, processing the gas at such low temperatures may also cause water to condense out of the gas stream, resulting in a contaminated effluent that must be stored and/or further treated. Furthermore, if a gas stream is non-condensable, then such methods to remove contaminants are not effective.
Hence, a need exists for new systems and methods for removing a contaminant from a non-condensable gas.